The Anchorage Assembly will hold a special meeting Friday, July 11, to take public commentary on a new ordinance that would criminalize unauthorized camping on public property.
This comes just weeks after city crews completed an extraordinary cleanup effort at Davis Park that removed the equivalent weight of a fully loaded Boeing 747.
According to officials, the city hauled out a staggering 744,000 pounds of debris from a long-standing encampment at Davis Park in East Anchorage. The cleanup required 1,914 man-hours of municipal labor, a time and resource investment that has galvanized support among some Assembly members to bring back criminal enforcement tools to address illegal encampments.
While the total cost of the 1,914 labor hours is unknown, a rough calculation using an average city labor cost of $40–$50 per hour (including benefits) puts the clean-up cost at approximately $76,000 to $96,000 — for just one camp.
The proposed ordinance, sponsored by Assembly Members Keith McCormick, Scott Myers, and Jared Goecker, would make it a class B misdemeanor to knowingly camp on public property without permission. It specifically targets conduct, not homeless “status,” in line with the recent US Supreme Court ruling in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, which allows cities to criminalize public camping so long as they target actions rather than conditions.
The Assembly will hold its special session designed for public comment on the ordinance on Friday, July 11, from 1-4 pm in the Loussac Library Assembly Chambers, located at 3600 Denali Street, Room 108. Public testimony will be taken on the ordinance, listed as Item 4.A. on the agenda.
It is anticipated that the Party for Socialism and Liberation will have a strong protest presence.
Full agenda packet available here.
Title of this article should’ve // might’ve been more accurately titled:
… “Anchorage Property TAXPAYERS Paid to Remove 372-tons of Homeless Debris”
Not counting the police action and the firefighters brought in to douse the arson set in protest by the “homesteaders.” – sd
Does this surprise anyone? These “homeless” are druggies, wine-os, meth heads, mentally ill (from taking too many illegal drugs) and predators that do not want to live within the confines and rules of normal society. It is NOT incompassoinate to point this out. It’s the truth. Very few of these “persons currently experiencing homelessness” have any incentive to get the help they need and get out of homelessness – because they do not want to. Those that do not want to get out should be in API, sent home to their villages (no, it is not racist to say this) or put in jail for their crimes. There is no reason for the 99.999% of us who want to play by the rules and live in a decent society to have to put up with bums dropping their pans and dropping a deuce on the sidewalk in front of town square. THEY should be punished. Not the rest of us.
It is good to remember that the vagrants that littered Davis Park with 744,000 pounds of debris are still in Anchorage. They just moved on to different locations. The litter, damage, and unsanitary conditions they caused at Davis Park was done without consequences on the part of the vagrants. Oh there were consequences for we taxpayers, but the perpetrators of the Davis Park mess walked away scott free.
At least 100K to clean this, counting vehicles, gas, dump fees, cops, firemen etc.
That is approx enough to rent an apt for 8 people (or 16 w/ roommates) for 1 year.
“Houston … we have a Problem” (there is about 3000 of these folks)
Too bad they did not deliver it to Suzanne LaFrance’s street, with side deliveries to the Assembly members who continually place the wants of the homeless above the needs of the taxpayers.
Now I need to find a new dump site.
“……..a rough calculation using an average city labor cost of $40–$50 per hour (including benefits) puts the clean-up cost at approximately $76,000 to $96,000……..”
The last hourly average figure I remember from cost estimates just before I retired in 2012 was $58 per hour. I’d suggest your $50 per hour is way low. I bet it’s closer to $70.
Then you can add equipment cost and the landfill cost per ton.
It’s more costly than you think.
The only answer.
ZERO TOLERANCE.
Ticket, cite, fine – if fines aren’t paid – jailed.